Month: November 2015

I am joining in a party extremely late — this seems to happen quite often. Clearly I need to rethink my life choices.

Said party is hosted by a talented friend, Elisabeth, and is for the sole purpose of “oohing” and “ahhing” over each other’s inspirational storyboards on that alternate blessing/bane of our existence called Pinterest. Check out the party post, my friends, and join in!

The first board I’m sharing is for my precious baby, I am Juliette. It’s a science fiction re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, and it’s one of my favorite stories of all time. Trapped prisoners, robotic birds, spacey-wacey stuffage and plenty of feels… I love it all. My favorite photos on here have to be the quotes since each one fits the story so perfectly, and the pictures of Jenna Coleman since she is spot-on as Juliette. I’m going to be editing the fourth draft come January.

Alicia is my favorite storyboard; it almost passes I am Juliette as the story most precious to my heart, too. I have a different title for the trilogy, but I’m keeping it under wraps, but the story stars a bright, childlike girl and it has a cast of characters that I love so much it hurts. Plus a snarky AI. There is a clear, vivid essence about it that thrills my soul. The day I write this will be the happiest day ever.

This board here is my oldest storyboard, and every single photo is perfect and special and… *happy dances* It’s an epic fantasy series and each title has a color in it, and it stars people with special abilities (elementals. Ish).

As the bonus feature I’m sharing a few storyboards from other writers that I love. My issue will be not swamping you all with links. *cough* Emily Chapman and Emily Ann Putzke’s board for Ain’t We Got Fun is perfect for the story and I enjoy the summery feel of it. I can not wait to read Joy Chalaby’s Twelfth Caller Home, and Schuyler McConkey’s War of Loyalties. Bridled is one of my favorite mysteries of all time — I cry over the main character without fail. The fresh essence of Carmel’s Psithurism makes me happy and Brianna da Silva’s White Blade is delightful.

What are some of your favorite Pinterest boards? Which one of mine do you like the most? And are you going to join in Elisabeth’s party? *begs*

According to the title, I also promised NaNoWriMo updates so let’s chat that first, shall we?

Last week my older sister and I went on a road-trip together. I didn’t get much written (about 1,000 words total) but it was wonderfully inspiring — everyone ought to try to road trip at least once per year. While we drove past rain-wet fields, deeply green pastures, forests of skeleton trees, and under the arc of pearl-grey sky, I spent a lot of time thinking about my books and planning my writing schedule out for the next few months. In a nutshell, with everything happening during the rest of November (helping a sibling move, fall-cleaning, Thanksgiving preparations, etc) realistically it would be well-nigh impossible for me to write 30,000 words on Witchling. Hence, I changed my goal to 10,000 which I reached this past Tuesday (YAY) and I am going to focus on Blood Thread for the rest of the month. I’m hoping to finish it before NaNoWriMo is over (Lordwilling) and I’ll spend the first two weeks of December editing and polishing it. It’ll be about 25,000 words long by the time I’m done and I have big plans for it.

So, there you have it! All the rest of my NaNo word-count will be going towards Blood Thread, and I feel much more at ease about my stress level — which has been higher because I’m sick right now. woe is me

By the way, I am very curious about how your NaNo battle is progressing, folks! Tell me ALLLL about it in the comments, please and thank you. *gives everyone rejuvenating chocolate* And as for anyone not doing NaNo, I’m still curious about your writing, my precious.

Beautiful Books — Part Two

Is the book turning out how you thought it would be, or is it defying your expectations?

It’s has been a very obedient child for the most part, but at least three times it has suddenly darted from the beaten path and I’ve had to race after it and drag it kicking and screaming back.

What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?

Oh, since you asked so nicely.

“The children are approaching, ma’am.”

(cue the suspenseful music.)

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Have you ever tried both methods and how did it turn out?

I’m a conglomeration of the two (plantser). My method is as follows:

Step One: Do a rough outline of the story with all the major plot points charted out.

Step Two: Trot merrily along from point to point and encounter all sorts of delightful shenanigans along the way.

Step Three: Become stuck with no idea how to get to Point (insert random number).

Step Four: Write a rough scene-by-scene outline.

Step Five: Write industriously with many moments of varied emotions.

What do you reward yourself with after meeting a goal?

Sometimes the warm, fuzzy feeling of having reached said goal is enough. If not, I break out my chocolate stash (it’s very small, but IT IS ALL MINE.) Other rewards include watching a TV episode, reading, sharing snippets with friends, browsing Pinterest…. basically anything I particularly enjoy.

What do you look for in a name? Do you have themes and where do you find your names?

I like names that have a snap to them. I like to toy with words and turn them into names — such as Prism. Most of my names are gleaned from meeting people, looking at gravestones, checking baby name sites… sometimes I look up names based on the meaning or I take foreign names/Latin words and manipulate them into my own thing. If I hear a name I like there is a 99% chance I’ll incorporate it into a book. And I always have a list of names in the back of my mind just waiting for that perfect character.

What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?

Beginnings are wonderful, also scary. But I love the emotions of finishing a book. There’s nothing like it.

Who’s your current favourite character in your novel?

WHAT SORT OF QUESTION IS THIS I ASK YOU.

What kind of things have you researched for this project, and how do you go about researching? (What’s the weirdest thing you’ve researched?!)

I actually haven’t researched very much. I tend to leave that for the second draft. One thing I did look up was how to make souffles. Needless to say, I’ve been craving them since then.

Do you write better alone or with others? Do you share your work or prefer to keep it to yourself?

I write best when I’m completely alone in a room, but word wars are amazing things so I (politely) bribe/beg my friends and younger sisters for them. Sharing snippets of my work with others is terrifying and exciting all at once. I love it.

What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!

Sequester myself at my desk, turn epic music on, make sure my glass of water is near by and write like I’m being chased by all nine of the Nazgul. I can’t snack whilst I write because I find it too distracting. I write best in the morning/early afternoon. Rarely ever do I write in the evenings.

(stay tuned for Part Three next month!)

In other news, I voluntarily entered the black hole of k-drama last week (I know, I’m questioning my sanity too). I’ve only seen City Hunter so far, but it was glorious and has so many martial arts scenes and plot twists and it destroyed my feels. I literally sat there and sobbed when a Certain Character died, and I can count the times I’ve done that during a film on one hand. I’ve entered the ranks of k-drama fangirls and I love it. My family thinks I’m mental. I fully intend to drag them down with me. *maniacal laughter* It’ll be epic.

Alright then, cyberspacelings! Tell me all about your NaNo experience so far. How goes the war? Are your books/characters being good, little creatures? Are you a k-drama fan? If you’ve seen City Hunter, let’s chat!

This post is sharing all the bookish quote love, which makes me so happy I could dance a jig. Quotes and pretty line-age are my favorite. They make my heart sing and ache and I can’t describe how much I adore words, people.

So here is a generous handful — several handfuls, actually — of favorite quotes from my reads of twenty-fifteen.

(pretend it’s not Wednesday, everyone.)

“She didn’t like me,” the cat said, speaking in the language of his race. “I thought she’d say, ‘Oh, look at the fluffy sweetness!’ and fold me into her arms. Instead, she drew a knife on me.” — Golden Daughter

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“To Marcus, running with the rest, it seemed suddenly that there was no weight in his body, none at all. He was filled through and through with a piercing awareness of life and the sweetness of life held in his hollowed hand, to be tossed away like the shining balls that the children played with in the gardens of Rome. At the last instant, when the charge was almost upon them, he swerved aside from his men, out and back on his tracks, and flinging aside his sword, stood poised to spring, full in the path of the oncoming chariots.” — The Eagle of the Ninth

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“He had a heart that could have held the entire empire of the world; and, in the end, he had to content himself with a cellar.” ― The Phantom of the Opera

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“The only thing I’m afraid of about this country is that its government will someday become so monstrous that the smallest person in it will be trampled underfoot, and then it wouldn’t be worth living in.” ― Go Set a Watchman

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“Who can say what astonishments are hidden inside the most mundane being?” ― Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

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“Pascal,” said Dr. Meescham, “had it that since it could not be proven whether God existed, one might as well believe that he did, because there was everything to gain by believing and nothing to lose. This is how it is for me. What do I lose if I choose to believe? Nothing!”
“Take this squirrel, for instance. Ulysses. Do I believe he can type poetry? Sure, I do believe it. There is much more beauty in the world if I believe such a thing is possible.” ― Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

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“To die will be an awfully big adventure.” ― Peter Pan

“There could not have been a lovelier sight; but there was none to see it except a little boy who was staring in at the window. He had ecstasies innumerable that other children can never know; but he was looking through the window at the one joy from which he must be for ever barred.” ― Peter Pan

“It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can’t) you would see your own mother doing this and you would find it very interesting to watch. It’s quite like tidying up drawers.” — Peter Pan

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“Don’t make the error of believing the papers know everything, and strive to know everything the papers won’t believe.” ― Anon, Sir, Anon

“Murder was the venality of theft combined with the cruelty of ending a life; it was robbing a person of their story. It was spilling blood over the best chapters of a book to purposely mar the sanctity of the tale.” — Anon, Sir, Anon

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“We give all we have, lives, property, safety, skill…we fight, we die, for a simple thing. Only that a man can stand up.” ― Johnny Tremain

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“If all men matter, all murders matter. That which He has so mysteriously created, we must not suffer to be mysteriously destroyed.” — The Quiet One, a Father Brown mystery

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“Everybody makes mistakes, some more than others, some bigger than others. And I’m sorry to say, you cannot move forward in life if you are continually looking over your shoulder.” ― Monster

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And now for a plethora of P.G. Wodehouse quotes because I discovered his delightful comedic literature in April and I love it with all the love. I could rave on about it for paragraphs, but I will be kind and refrain.

“She laughed – a bit louder than I could have wished in my frail state of health, but then she is always a woman who tends to bring plaster falling from the ceiling when amused.” ― The Code of the Woosters

“I don’t know if you have had the same experience, but the snag I always come up against when I’m telling a story is this dashed difficult problem of where to begin it.” ― Right Ho, Jeeves

“Am taking legal advice to ascertain whether strangling an idiot nephew counts as murder. If it doesn’t look out for yourself.” ― Right Ho, Jeeves

“There was a sound in the background like a distant sheep coughing gently on a mountainside. Jeeves sailing into action.” ― Joy in the Morning

“A hoarse shout from within and a small china ornament whizzing past my head informed me that my old friend was at home.” ― Joy in the Morning

“I asked you to wear a pink chrysanthemum. So I could recognize you, you know.”

“I am wearing a pink chrysanthemum. I should have imagined that that was a fact that the most casual could hardly have overlooked.”

“That thing?” the other gazed disparagingly at the floral decoration. “I thought it was some kind of cabbage. I meant one of those what-d’you-may-call-its that people do wear in their button-holes.”

“Carnation, possibly?”

“Carnation! That’s right.”

Psmith removed the chrysanthemum and dropped it behind his chair. He looked at his companion reproachfully.

“If you had studied botany at school, comrade,” he said, “much misery might have been averted. I cannot begin to tell you the spiritual agony I suffered, trailing through the metropolis behind that shrub.” — Leave It to Psmith

“We must always remember, however,’ said Psmith gravely, ‘that poets are also God’s creatures.” ― Leave It to Psmith

“He picked up one of the dead bats and covered it with his handkerchief. ‘Somebody’s mother,’ he murmured reverently.” ― Leave It to Psmith

“It seems to me that you and I were made for each other. I am your best friend’s best friend and we both have a taste for stealing other people’s jewellery.” ― Leave It to Psmith

“One of the King Georges – I forget which – once said that a certain number of hours´ sleep each night – I cannot recall at the moment how many – made a man something which for the time being has slipped my memory.” ― Something Fresh

“Mr Beach was too well bred to be inquisitive, but his eyebrows were not.

“Ah!” he said.

‘?’, cried the eyebrows. ‘? ? ?’

Ashe ignored the eyebrows.

[…]

Mr Beach’s eyebrows were still mutely urging him to reveal all, but Ashe directed his gaze at that portion of the room which Mr Beach did not fill. He was hanged if he was going to let himself be hypnotized by a pair of eyebrows into incriminating himself.” ― Something Fresh

“You can’t rush up to pretty girls in the street and tell them you are lonely. At least, you can, but it doesn’t get you anywhere except the police station.” — A Damsel in Distress

“There are doubtless men so constructed that they can find themselves accepted suitors without any particular whirl of emotion. King Solomon probably belonged to this class, and even Henry the Eighth must have become a trifle blasé in time.” — The Intrusion of Jimmy

“What passed for brain in him was to genuine grey matter what just-as-good imitation coffee is to real mocha.” — The Intrusion of Jimmy

“Ashe! What are you doing?” Ashe paused a moment to reply. “I’m kissing you,” he said.

“But you mustn’t! There’s a scullery maid or somebody looking through the kitchen window. She’ll see us.”

Ashe drew her to him. “Scullery maids have few pleasures,” he said. “Theirs is a dull life. Let her see us.” — Something Fresh

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Alrighty, humans. Have you read any of these books this year? Which quote(s) I shared are your favorite? What are some of YOUR favorite quotes from 2015? SHARE WITH ME SO I MAY APPRECIATE THE WONDER TOO.

Once upon a time (in September) three friends met and plotted and started a brilliant idea percolating. The names of these three friends are Schuyler and Emily. Also, Annie (*waves at everyone*).

Their clever Idea continued to percolate as Ideas do and quite suddenly it become:

The…….

Humans?

Behold our first ever creative writing contest!

But, before you panic and run the other way because NaNoWriMo is a beast that eats all your time and inspiration, I have a thing to say: our contest deadline extends into the second week of December and our word limit is 3,000. You could scrawl that on a weekend, you could write it as a flash fiction when you need to think about something besides NaNo or you could do it just because PRIZES.

Basically, the contest is open to all and sundry (who is Sundry anyways) and there will be three winners. Yes, three.

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this! Schuyler, Emily, and I have been brainstorming for weeks now and I think this will be an amazing contest, y’all.

Before we chat Contest Stuffage I must say another thing: I don’t know if you’ve ever heard about this or not (*cough*) but there was a group of writing friends who once decided to call themselves the Inklings (*cough*). Naturally, they became famous and, naturally, the Inkling title was off-limits to all others. The nerve. Anywho. Since we couldn’t use that particular title the three of us gals decided to combine the initals of our first names, hence, The SEA Scribblers. Clever much? I think yes.

Now.

Time for the contest jargon. I do apologize for keeping you waiting. Have a chocolate chip?

Here’s how it works, cyber-dears.

The Challenge

Choose one or all of the prompt photos on our blogs to incorporate into a short story, along with a winter or Christmas theme. (looking for clever creativity on weaving in the winter or Christmas theme!) Write a short story of 3,000 words or less, and send it in to seascribblerscontest[AT]gmail[DOT]com by December the 12th, following the rules below.

Which means you have over a month to brainstorm and scribble, my friends!

Now for the rules and (what’s far more thrilling) the prizes:

The Rules:
1. All entries must be submitted to seascribblerscontest[at]gmail[dot]com by December 12, 2015, midnight EST. Files should be .doc files.

2. Entries should be no more than 3,000 words. There is no minimum word requirement. Entries must use one of the photo prompts provided, and contain a Christmas or winter theme. Contestants may submit up to three seperate entries, but only one entry can win.

3. Email subject line should read “Entry for 2015 SEA Scribblers Short Story Contest” and should not contain your story title.

4. Entries should be in Times New Roman, size 12 font.

5. Entries will be judged for creative use of the photo prompt(s), style, and grammar.

6. No language or inappropriate scenes/explicit sex please.

7. Judges for the contest are Annie Hawthorne, Emily Hayse, and Schuyler McConkey.

8. Winners will be notified by email and announced online on Saturday, December 19th.

9. The winning entries will be posted on the judges’ blogs. All stories remain the property of their owners, but may be used for promotional purposes in connection with the contest.

10. The Art of War for Writers will be shipped to contestants outside the US from The Book Depository. However, the bookmark will only be shipped to US entrants, and if a person outside the US wins second place, a digital prize will be substituted.

The Prizes:

1. First place winner will receive a paperback copy of The Art of War for Writers, by James Scott Bell and a digital copy of The Rakshasa’s Bride, by Suzannah Rowntree.

2. Second place winner will receive a digital anthology of short stories by Annie, Emily, and Schuyler, as well as a bookmark.

3. Third place winner will receive a $10 giftcard to The Book Depository.

I told you it was thrilling. But! You haven’t even seen my photo prompt yet.

For two more prompts (remember, you can use one or all three, but don’t forget to weave in a holiday or winter theme) trot over to Schuyler’s blog and Emily’s blog.
I am already dying by inches in anticipation to see what you all come up with. It’ll be fantastic.

By all means, spread the word to your friends and relations and arch-enemies and random strangers on the street! (okay, maybe not the last one.) Oh, and if you have any questions, feel free to email us at seascribblerscontest[at]gmail[dot]com.